Egg Tempera Using PASTELS!

[CarlyHardy]

Egg Tempera Using PASTELS (http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/21273/400/)

Craig Houghton shows us how to combine pastel dust with egg yolk to create an egg tempura! Thanks Craig for a great article and for your spirit of adventure with pastels!!

After checking out the demo, please click the "Join the Conversation" link which will bring you back to this thread. I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions for Craig!
carly

[jackiesimmonds]

Very interesting, and good use of those tiny bits of pastel we all collect!

Incidentally Carly - Tempura is something you eat . I am not at all sure what would happen if you tried to eat pastel egg tempura. Your insides would be colourful tho..............

[SabZero]

It's a nice idea for recycling pastel bits, although I don't think you would accumulate that much in a short time in one single pigment type...

Also, it would be cheaper to buy pigment than "scrap" a box of good pastels....

A last thing: just because it is made with egg yolk, don't think that the paint is non toxic! The pigments itself are what can be toxic, better get one of those charts that classifies pigments and their toxicity (Ray Smiths Handbook for artists has one)... :cat:

[Mo.]

Great article Craig, one way to avoid the dust, may well give this one a try.

Love the watermelon painting and the richness of the colours.

Mo.:)

[E-J]

Craig, thanks for writing this up as an article. It sounds like fun! I might have to try it with a few of the colours in my pastel box that I haven't yet found a use for, just to play around a bit.

I'm now itching to read your article on how to paint with chocolate and peanut butter ;)

[Craig Houghton]

Thanks everyone :)

Also


SabZero Also, it would be cheaper to buy pigment than "scrap" a box of good pastels....

If planning a large work, or actively pursuing egg tempera, it's definitely a good idea to invest in some pigments, but at 8 to 20 dollars for a jar of quality pigment, it's not all that cheap unless you plan on doing a lot of tempera work. This is a way to try it out without having to limit oneself to four of five available pigments. It also doesn't use up all that much pastel -- it's amazing how much dust you get when you scrape off a fine powder. It's definitely not about reducing them to 'scrap.' So long as you don't throw the mixture away, I daresay it uses about the same pastel you'd use if working on a peice.

A last thing: just because it is made with egg yolk, don't think that the paint is non toxic! The pigments itself are what can be toxic, better get one of those charts that classifies pigments and their toxicity (Ray Smiths Handbook for artists has one)...

THere's a list of pigments and their toxicity over at the Society of Tempera Painters: http://www.eggtempera.com/technical.html#pigments

However, pastel makers generally avoid the dangerous pigments (no cads or leads etc) when making pastels -- it's going to end up in the air and the lungs, and they realize that. Although I wouldn't recommend eating the pigment or getting it all over bare fingers, pastel pigments should be some of the safest to play with. ALso, most makers list the specific pigments on each of the pastels (look for the code.. it's something like PG7 etc), and one can check up on any of them.

Also, this is a side issue, but for those who have had respiratory problems when using pastels, I happened to be learning more about gum tragacanth when I happened upon a number of articles and medical journal type entries that accused gum tragacanth (a typical pastel binder) of causing a severe allergic reaction in people.

Those who have had to stop using soft pastels, might consider reading more about this. It might be the binder and not the particles that your lungs dislike so very much. This could explain some of the more etreme reactions a few people have had in the past here.

This is from a WHO report on tragacanth gum:

---------------

Although there are only few reports of sensitization to tragacanth, the available information indicates tragacanth is a powerful allergen capable of causing extremely severe reactions (Gelfand, 1943). Allergic response may occur as a result of inhalation or oral ingestion (Gelfand, 1949).

----------------

Now, back to the tempera with pastels thing: I had a chance to try a few more

4x6 - egg tempera using pastel pigment on illustration board
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-snake_canyon.jpg

4x6 - egg tempera using pastel pigment on illustration board
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-rifle.jpg

For those who might be looking to try this (come hither ye adventurous souls!) here's how I painted the Snake Canyon 4x6.

First, I selected a palette

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scpalette.JPG

Then, I seperated an egg yolk from the egg, rolled it a bit in a paper towel to clean off the sac (it usually doesn't break, but it can), and drained the sack into a little dish ( I later transferred to a jar with a lid -- one can use more later or perhaps the next day, but it does go bad, of course -- though I hear there are additives that can retard spoilage)

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scegg.JPG

I added a teaspoon of water using a medicine dropper, but there's really no need to be so precise

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scmixed.JPG

then I scraped my palette -- I also added some white in the center, but it's hard to see. Notice that I didn't scrape off all that much -- as long as it doesn't dry out, a little dust goes a long way.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scscraped.JPG

I mixed equal parts pigment with egg/water medium (too little and the end result appears chalky, too much and it takes longer to dry and appears a tad greasy). I think I added a tad too much.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scwatered.JPG

then, I painted, thinning with water and mixing paints as needed

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scpainted.JPG

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/18-Nov-2003/21273-scpalettemixing.JPG

Thanks for taking a look!

Craig

[E-J]

Craig, thank you for the precise step-by-step ... I love your little 4x6: the warmth in the foreground, the cooler shades further back. The colours are extraordinarily vivid.

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by E-J
Craig, thank you for the precise step-by-step ... I love your little 4x6: the warmth in the foreground, the cooler shades further back. The colours are extraordinarily vivid.

Thanks E-J. In retrospect, I wish I spent more time with it, but it was really just meant to be an example. With egg tempera it's really all about the layers -- the semi-opaque quality lends itself to layering. Instead of darkening and muddying, layered tempera tends to become more vivid and luminous.

Many thanks,
Craig

[Jakeally]

Thanks for all your hard work on this Craig..... I have just been mesmerised reading about everything. I am going to have to try this egg thingy:D

[E-J]

Well, this is 55 mins' worth of playtime ...

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/22-Nov-2003/13865-poinsettia.jpg

... and here's the pic to prove I did it in pastel tempera!! :D

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/22-Nov-2003/13865-tempera.jpg

I did this on a 6x4" w/colour postcard. Thought poinsettias would be suitably Christmassy so I picked an image from the ref library. I didn't build it up in lovely luminous layers like yours, Craig, as I wasn't sure how to thin the paint - more water? more egg? more of both? :confused: - so I just waded in with big thick slabs of colour. Great fun tho!

[Craig Houghton]

I'm absolutely thrilled that you tried this! And, the results look great!

Thank you for posting the set-up pic too -- it even looks exciting. I love it when a studio table looks like a science lab.

The poinsettias look fantastic. I love the strong shadows and the bold red.

Also, to water things down, especially for glazes and layers etc (which is just one way of doing it, but not at all necessary), use water. So long as you first add the egg medium to the pigment (this more or less 1 to 1 ratio is the one that matters) you can thin with straight water as much as you like. So, in short, mix the medium with the dust, and then water down afterwards at will.

Great work!! I hope others follow in your brave brave steps! :)

Also, how'd it feel scraping down the pastels :P :)

-Craig

[E-J]

You know, I really enjoyed that sound of my palette knife scraping on the pastels :) You were right, you don't need very much. Thanks for the explanation about how to dilute - I will definitely try it. A friend gave me a book of little w/colour postcard blanks and I'd like to use them to make some hand-painted Christmas cards. Doing them in egg tempera would be fun.

PS. I don't have a table in my painting room ... and my easel's tied up with something else at the moment ... so the setup you see in the photo is, in fact, down on the floor :eek: :D

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by E-J
You know, I really enjoyed that sound of my palette knife scraping on the pastels :) You were right, you don't need very much. Thanks for the explanation about how to dilute - I will definitely try it. A friend gave me a book of little w/colour postcard blanks and I'd like to use them to make some hand-painted Christmas cards. Doing them in egg tempera would be fun.

Sounds like a great idea. :) The only word of caution I would have is that if things are too thick, the bending of the paper might cause some problems with cracking the tempera. It should be fine though, since although I've read that, my own stuff (like the watermelon) deals with the flexible nature of cold press paper quite well.

It should really be fine though. I think most talk of tempera requiring a rather inflexible surface is just because people traditionally have used tempera on traditional gesso (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=148147) (not the acrylic gesso kind, but the rabbitskin glue stuff) and the gesso itself is brittle and hard. The tempera on paper that isn't composed of layers on layers should be fine when passed around at christmas time.

Oh, and I've found that you can spray varnish the final product to keep it safe from water and other damage. Some avoid spraying tempera work though, as it trades the luminous matte surface for a uniform varnish gloss. But, if you're giving them as handmade cards, a spray varnish coat could keep them extra safe from Christmas hazards like snow and such :)

Once again, great work!

-Craig

[gnu]

I thoroughly enjoyed your article Craig..it is very inspiring..I'm going to consider trying it tomorrow..
2 questions..before I do
1.did any dust go into the air when you scraped? (my eyes react badly to pastel dust floating around me..I found out when I blew it..I reacted for days whenever I went near my drawing area)
2. does the mixed pastel/egg dry out very quickly on the palette or in the wells? in other words, do you have to work fast to keep the tempera usable...
thanks again for a wonderful lesson..
:clap:

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by gnu
I thoroughly enjoyed your article Craig..it is very inspiring..I'm going to consider trying it tomorrow..
2 questions..before I do
1.did any dust go into the air when you scraped? (my eyes react badly to pastel dust floating around me..I found out when I blew it..I reacted for days whenever I went near my drawing area)
2. does the mixed pastel/egg dry out very quickly on the palette or in the wells? in other words, do you have to work fast to keep the tempera usable...
thanks again for a wonderful lesson..
:clap:

First off, many thanks.

I find that in general pastel dust drops down unless otherwise acted upon. It's been a long time since I blew on it, or otherwise noticed it floating around. But since one dealing with scraped powdered pigment, I imagine the risk of some being airborne is pretty high, but it doesn't seem to be any higher than it is when using ones pastels normally. In other words, no I didn't notice anything airborne, and the scraping fell straight down in a tidy little pattern next to the pastel.

Here's an idea though: Instead of scraping off a portion (it doesn't take a lot really), break off the end of a pastel. You can place the pastel over a toothpick and press down to make this easier. Take this broken portion and grind it in a splash of water in a mortal and pestle, or grind it in a splash of water using a muller or something similar. It's ok to mix it with a bit of water to make a pastel/water paste, so long as when you add the water/yolk mixture to it, you add about as much water/yolk medium as you have pigment.

I actually took a half-stick or two from my extra extra reserve pile of doubles and scraped the entire thing down to a pile of dust (didn't see any airborne either), and then stored the pile in a little jar, added a splash of straight water, and shook it like crazy for twenty seconds. The result is a paste. I can keep this paste stored airtight for as long as I like. And, unline regular powdered pigments, there's even anti-fungals present in pastels to keep this fresh. When I want to use some of the paste, I take it out, smear a dab on the palette, and add some water/yolk medium to the paste.

Regarding drying time, I've found that if you only have a little bit in the well, it will dry fairly quickly. If you're used to acrylic, I'd recommend trying a stay-wet palette (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138331&highlight=palette) . So, yes, it does dry quickly unless you either use lots of water (and I prefer not to personally -- I like a medium consistency) or have a ton in the well. One can combat this by having a water dropper nearby.


I hope you do try it, but you should really take measures to avoid the dust if you're sensitive. I really recommend using it in paste form.

Feel free to ask for clarification -- I wrote this reply a bit hastily.

-Craig

[gnu]

thank you so much Craig.yes that's just the information I need!! I understand it completely and really appreciate the time you took to explain.
I'm so glad there's an alternative, because I really do want to give this a shot.
Acrylic and Coloured Pencil are my main mediums, so I am well used the the drying out..I keep my water in a syringe..that works well to for adding water, or a spray bottle...
thanks again heaps...

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by gnu
thank you so much Craig.yes that's just the information I need!! I understand it completely and really appreciate the time you took to explain.
I'm so glad there's an alternative, because I really do want to give this a shot.
Acrylic and Coloured Pencil are my main mediums, so I am well used the the drying out..I keep my water in a syringe..that works well to for adding water, or a spray bottle...
thanks again heaps...

Glad to hear it! Make sure you post if you give it a try. :)

-Craig

[gnu]

I like this!! I'm just waiting for my painting to dry then I'll post...
The red pigment was very strong compared the the blue and yellow...at first I tried to break up the hard pastel, then realised the soft was prob more appropriate...and funnily enough, the blue just dissolved!!...now to find some little bottles with lids!!

[gnu]

here is my first go with pastel tempera..using the pastel paste method..from life..using just blue red and yellow
Reeves soft pastels on Daler Rowney brown pastel paper..9 x 6"
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/24-Nov-2003/7242-IMG_0734tempera_rose.jpg

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by gnu
here is my first go with pastel tempera..using the pastel paste method..from life..using just blue red and yellow
Reeves soft pastels on Daler Rowney brown pastel paper..9 x 6"


I'm thrilled that you gave this a try! The result looks great. I especially love the color on the petals. Well done!!

I'm also amazed that this worked with Reeves. I assumed the student grade would just disintegrate.

Thanks for submitting this. It looks great and I hope to see more.

You mentioned that you used the paste method. Did you grind them directly with water? If so, what did you use to grind them?

-Craig

[gnu]

I guess you could say the blue did disintegrate..but to my advantage :D..
I crumbled the pieces in a little water, then added the egg emulsion on the palette as I used each colour..
the next bit you're gonna LOVE..To grind them, I used the fat round plastic end of a baby fork, and a stainless steel hemi-spherical dip bowl :D:D:D (we Kiwis are known for our ingenuity/resourcefulness..otherwise known as No.8 Wire technology!!)..you want a pic? :D:D
I hunted the WHOLE house to see what I could find..ended up in the kitchen...
I will not use pastel paper again though..it 'dipped' with the mixture..esp the red...I'm guessing heavier WC paper would work better...

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by gnu
I guess you could say the blue did disintegrate..but to my advantage :D..
I crumbled the pieces in a little water, then added the egg emulsion on the palette as I used each colour..
the next bit you're gonna LOVE..To grind them, I used the fat round plastic end of a baby fork, and a stainless steel hemi-spherical dip bowl :D:D:D (we Kiwis are known for our ingenuity/resourcefulness..otherwise known as No.8 Wire technology!!)..you want a pic? :D:D
I hunted the WHOLE house to see what I could find..ended up in the kitchen...
I will not use pastel paper again though..it 'dipped' with the mixture..esp the red...I'm guessing heavier WC paper would work better...

Whatever works! I resort to kitchen tools all the time. I even just used legos to help establish a composition. If it works, use it. But lol, a baby fork sounds perfect with a dip bowl.

Also, WC paper works well. Although things dont get as wet, they still get wet. Matboard or illustration board also works well.

And, if you do have a pic of the baby fork process, post away!

-Craig

[J. Harris]

Wow, If you only knew what you've started!
I tried your new process. Here's a WIP. It's my little dog. A Shi Tzu. Her name's Mandy, she weighs around 10#
I'm in love with this medium! In fact, I've ordered the book by Altoon Sultan! I've done alot of research on the internet and can't wait to get more. I would never had tried this other wise. Thank you so much.
I can't find a channel in WC that's about Egg Tempera only, am I just blind? How do we start one?
Thanks!

[J. Harris]

That's what I get for being up at 0050.
Here's a better pic.

[Craig Houghton]

Originally posted by J. Harris
Wow, If you only knew what you've started!
I tried your new process. Here's a WIP. It's my little dog. A Shi Tzu. Her name's Mandy, she weighs around 10#
I'm in love with this medium! In fact, I've ordered the book by Altoon Sultan! I've done alot of research on the internet and can't wait to get more. I would never had tried this other wise. Thank you so much.
I can't find a channel in WC that's about Egg Tempera only, am I just blind? How do we start one?
Thanks!

I'm thrilled to hear it! Your pup looks fantastic. It's thrilling enough to see people playing around with this approach, but it just plain feels great to see someone falling in love with the approach. I'd be doing some tempera myself if I had the time right now.

My #1 suggestion is New Techniques in Egg Tempera by Robert Vickrey. The book is out of print but you can get it used from amazon.com. It's incredible.

As for the channel.. I'm sort of unsure where to post myself. :) I know the watercolor forum happily welcomes egg tempera, but I too wish there was a forum. For now though, if you add egg tempera to the subject line when posting in watercolors I bet you'll get extra hits through curiousity :)

I'm really looking forward to seeing more!

-Craig

[J. Harris]

I'll check into the book, thanks!
Went to Daniel Smith store in Seattle today (120 mi round trip)and drooled over dry pigments and tubes of egg tempera. (Just say no!)
Will continue to explore "do it yourself" egg tempera. Thanks for the ecouragement. You should have seen the look on my mother-in-laws face when I started painting with egg yolk. The look alone was worth it!
Jeanette

[kimcaplan]

Hi Craig,thanks so much for this info.I have been away from painting for a while and your stuff on egg tempera has really inspired me again.
I am concerned about how to preserve the work.Does it need to be under glass or is there a matt varnish or wax that one can apply?
I have been using a stretched fabric with a rough weave as I love the way the paint lies on it, but from my reading of tempera and goauche I fear that I should be working on something more solid.

Hope you can help.Thanks.Kim.